Weddingbee Blog

When I found out Mr. Whale was going to be leaving me for an entire weekend, I decided I was going to let loose! And there’s nothing crazier than beer and beads. No, I’m not going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Not those beads. I’m talking about the beads you buy at a craft store. Weekends without the fiance are great for crafts, because I can totally trash the apartment for an entire day while I drag out all my crafting stuff, and then I still have a day to try and get everything back in order so he doesn’t know how bad it got.

There are several items that have been on my DIY wishlist. For this particular weekend, I decided to tackle a necklace. I’ve been browsing necklaces online for ages. I don’t think I’m going to wear a necklace to the wedding ceremony, but I think putting one on for the reception would be totally awesome. I already showed you a few of my inspiration pictures. I want something colorful, preferably with some turquoise and bright coral in it. If I can’t find the perfect necklace, then I’ll just have to make it myself. And there’s not much I love more than getting my craft on.

Lucky for me, Michaels was having a 50% off sale on ALL of their beads on this particular weekend! I seriously stocked up. (Seriously. I had so many beads in my baskets that other customers kept asking me for tips on how to make jewelry, what I thought looked best, where I could find other stuff in the store. I must have looked like a real expert.) In reality, I’m just lazy. I knew I could return the beads, but I didn’t want to have to get out of my pajamas on Saturday and make another trip to Michaels just because I didn’t get enough beads. So…I totally splurged and spent about $100 on beads.

If you’re going to be making jewelry, there are a few other crucial items you’d want to pick up. All the stuff I’m showing could be found at any Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics (or similar store). I’ve already got all that stuff, but you’ll need:

- Wire Cutters

Can be purchased at any Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics

- Bead Crimper and Crimp Beads (These are absolutely essential. The crimp bead is how you keep the whole necklace from falling apart. And you’ll have a disastrous time trying to crimp it without a crimper tool.)

Buy at Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics.

Buy at Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics

- The highest gauge wire you can find (higher gauge = thinner wire). I used 26 gauge, because it’s what I had on hand. If I could find a smaller wire, I’d use it.

- A clasp. I’ve got a multi-strand necklace, so I was looking for something like this:

Found this one at JoAnn Fabrics.

I’m not going to give you a whole big tutorial. The main thing you need to know is how to crimp the crimp beads. If you google that exact phrase (“How to crimp a crimp bead”), there are already tons of people willing to show you how it’s done!

I’m not done with my necklace quite yet. Oddly enough, I have to buy more beads…Sometimes you don’t know until you get started which ones will be your favorite. But thank goodness I’ve also got a ton to return, so I think I will have spent about $50-$60 on my necklace when all is said and done. But what does it look like?? Here’s a close up of my favorite strands so far.

Personal photo

And here is is with a couple of extra strands that I’m not totally sold on sitting on top.

Personal photo

What do you think??